as he seems. Once you get past the hat, he’s quite intelligent. He and I have had some very spirited debates over the years, and I’m always surprised at the stuff he knows. He volunteers at school all the time, and the kids love him.”
“So, why the hat, though?”
I shook my head. “You know, I’m not sure. I’m just so used to seeing it that I don’t much notice it. He keeps bees, obviously. I think he told me once that he was getting a little bald spot, and it bothered him.”
“Yeah, and a bald spot is way more embarrassing than walking around all over the place with a beekeeping hat.”
The conversation meandered to and around other topics. Leo told a few stories about growing up on army bases, and all the trouble he and his younger brother got into.
“We were Irish twins,” he said. “Eleven months apart and supercompetitive with each other, but since we were always moving around, we learned early on to stick together. Nothing quite like being the new kid in school all the time. Like I said before, if I was on some kind of sports team, that helped me let off some steam and then I did okay, but other times it was just Shawn and I egging each other on to see who could make the stupidest decisions. My poor mom was constantly getting called by teachers or principals or neighbors.”
The waitress set down the two beers that Leo had ordered for us. “Pizza good?” she asked, then moved on to the next table as we nodded.
“What about your dad? What’s he like?” I asked, picking up the fresh drink.
Leo’s expression dimmed momentarily before going neutral. “He’s okay. He was gone a lot when we were younger, and we missed him. Then he retired and was home all the time, and I realized he’s kind of an asshole.” He took a gulp of beer. “Not a huge asshole, but I think after life in the army, the monotony of suburban life sort of grated on his nerves. My parents split up when I was fifteen. My mother never admitted as much, but I think she thought he was having an affair. A new girlfriend showed up pretty soon after he moved out.”
His tone was matter-of-fact, but it obviously still affected him, as anyone might expect. It tugged at my heart in unexpected ways.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Did you ever ask him about it?”
Leo shook his head. “He wasn’t the sort to invite those kinds of conversations. You didn’t question my father. Anyway, it was a long time ago. We’ve all moved on.”
We sat in silence for the briefest moment before Leo added, “As much as I hate to admit it, I do understand some of what he felt. That transition to civilian life after being overseas can be a little rocky. You get used to the adrenaline. Even if you’re bored off your ass on a base, there’s always that potential for something big to happen. Maybe that’s why I like doing security. Most of the time it’s pretty textbook stuff, but every now and again something out of the ordinary happens. And I like being on the move. I’m not sure I could handle an office job, sitting at a desk for hours on end. I need fresh air. I need to be on my feet.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “You do realize you’re trying to write a book, right? I think that’s going to require some desk time.”
He laughed along with me, and the weight of the conversation lightened again. “Sure, it will, but I’ll be doing something I’m interested in. Don’t get me wrong. I can sit for hours playing a video game, it’s just that I prefer being active and keeping things moving. Variety being the spice of life and all that.”
I could sense that about him. On the surface he seemed all relaxation and charm, but underneath that was an energy, an incessant state of motion, like he was constantly taking in our surroundings. Maybe that was the security training in action. Or maybe it was just his nature. Either way, it made him seem exciting . . . but it also made him a very poor candidate for any sort of romantic entanglement. He would not be a long-termer on this island. He had just all but admitted he wasn’t the stay-put kind of guy, and if he craved adrenaline, he